Emerging travel search engine Rome2rio is in the midst of a wide ranging expansion strategy as it surges towards a milestone of 100 million annual visitors online.
A move from a search only to a hybrid search and booking model is slated as the next major development for the company.
Currently Rome2rio aggregates information from more than 4800 transport operators in 158 countries with the number growing each month. In a bid to increase booking capability the search engine has in 2016 rolled out partnerships with SilverRail in the UK, as well as Amtrak and TrenItalia. Further European rail booking options are planned for 2017.
In the coach travel realm Rome2rio has recently partnered with Busbud and Distribution, meaning bookings are now enabled with National Express, Euroline and Greyhound among others operators.
“Our multi-modal search capability attracts high-volume and rapidly growing traffic from users with questions like ‘How do I get from Zurich to Frankfurt?’ Answering those queries properly requires a full compliment of air, rail, bus, rideshare, ferry and self-drive options, which no other online player offers. We do, and are seeing growing demand for this complete transportation coverage,” Rome2rio CEo Rod Cuthbert said.
“By creating this well-rounded resource, we expect to see continued strong growth in both traffic and revenue, and we expect to become the global leader in the multi-modal bookings sector,” Cuthbert added.
